PRETTY MAKEUP | IS IT AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS?

20 August 2016

To me makeup is an art form not only in the way people apply it their faces but also the way the packaging and products itself is designed. If you're like me you'll get sucked into buying makeup for its pretty packaging before you even try this products. This post is a collection of all of the packaging I adore and whether the product lives up to it.

I missed out on the palette the first time round and when it came back in stock at Space NK recently I had to get it. The packaging of this is much more luxurious that the normal Champagne Pop compact. This packaging is gold with a white top with gold sparkles all over it and the Becca/Jaclyn Hill logo, its really sturdy packaging and definitely handy for travelling. In the palette itself you get Champagne Pop, Procsecco Pop and three blushes (Rose Spritz, Amaretto & Pamplemousse). In terms of the formula its one of the loveliest i've tried, they are really buttery and pigmented.

Benefit recently relaunched their entire brow collection and boy is it pretty looking. All of the packaging is chrome silver with a theme of arrows in my opinion. I only have some of the free products they gave away in magazines such as Elle and Glamour. I have the revamped Gimme Brow and the new Ready, Set, Brow! i'd actually tried the Gimme Brow before and was a big fan of it and the setting gel is amazing and stopping those fly away hairs. When I have had my eyebrows waxed at Benefit they have also used the Ka-Brow cream-gel colour which fills in the brows and had 24-hour waterproof wear.

Honestly CT's whole makeup collection has the most gorgeous packaging. Its also housed in rose gold chrome packaging and the products themselves are even better. One of my favourites has to the Filmstar Bronze & Glow, this contour and highlight palette is so dreamy. The bronzer pigmented with a slight shimmer to it and adds just enough bronzer to your face. The highlight is golden with light flex technology for a luminous complexion.

The packaging itself of the products is pretty simple with a small black case and clear lid, but its the pattern in the compact that really makes it pretty. Fitting with the name of the palette the product has a swirl pattern that really makes it stand out. In terms of the product itself I love it, I bought the Gilded Honey one first as i'd heard it was a cult product and now i've added the Charming Pink one to my collection.

Rosie HW bought out this range in collaborate with Autograph at M&S a few months ago and so many makeup lovers went wild for it. The whole collection is house is a dark rose gold/almost copper chrome packaging. I have a few products from the collection and one of my favourites is the Rose Bud Highlighter Powder. I'm a highlighter junkie so anything that gives me shimmer I love, this is a really soft rose pink for a radiant luminous finish.

Bobbi Brown Pink Glow Highlighter

I picked up this last year in Bicester Village and I can't find it online anymore so I don't think its available. The product is housed in a tortoise shell print case, which is unlike anything i've tried before and the product itself has this cross pattern. Unfortunately I wasn't as impressed with the product as I was the packaging, I found it to be really powdering and didn't blend onto my skin as well as I wanted.

Shock another pretty highlighter but I couldn't not include this one. Again it has a pretty plain packaging with it just being black and the ABH logo on top but the product is embossed with this geometric design that really makes it stand out. I have the shade Peach Nectar that is a deep peachy shimmer, admittedly its a little too dark for my skin tone so I use it as a bronzer shade instead. This will probably work a lot better for me when my skin is tanned.

MAC Wash and Dry Collection

The packaging of this limited edition collection was one of my favourites but unfortunately its not available any more. The lipstick bullet is the same shape as the normal ones but it has this gorgeous summery multicoloured almost tie dye look. From the collection I got the lipstick shade Morange, which is like an electric orange shade in amplified cream finish. MAC lipsticks are some of the best out so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed with it.

In my opinion Urban Decay always impress with their packaging and this collection designed by Gwen Stefani is no different. Gwen designed the packaging from her love of black and white graphic prints and antique gold accents. This palette contains 12 shades ranging from brights to neutrals. The formula is like the other UD eyeshadows, super pigmented and blendable.

YSL is another brand where all their packaging is so pretty, its all gold chrome which would make any dressing table look pretty. This particular lipstick has a gold tube with the YSL logo embossed around the centre and another clever part of it is that each colour behind the logo is different as per the shades. These are more of a balm than a lipstick and I find them perfect for everyday wear when you don't want a full lip colour.

These are definitely some of the prettiest makeup brushes I own. When RT launched them early last year I headed straight to the shops and picked a few up. There are 9 brushes in the collection for face, eyes and finishing touches, in either a silver, rose gold or chrome finish. However, as much as I love the packaging of these the brushes themselves don't live up to the hype or price tag in my opinion. I think you can get cheaper brushes and sometimes much better from the likes of Zoeva and Morphe.